Mobile school provides free education for 1,000 children in Kabul province

KABUL -- Wazir Khan, a 23-year-old man in Kabul province, is providing free education to 1,000 girls and boys who have missed out on schooling.

Khan opened the "Today's Child Mobile School" about a year ago and has been teaching children in remote villages of Bagrami and Khak-e-Jabar districts, Kabul province.

The children had been deprived of education because of poverty, lack of schools in their area, or the great distance between their homes and schools.

"As an educated resident, I wanted to fulfil my human responsibility toward the children in my area, so I established the mobile school with the little resources I had," he said.

"About 1,000 children, most of whom are girls, study at the mobile school for two hours a day. Disabled kids and and children of nomads also study at the school, and local elders like to take literacy lessons," he added.

"I am a second-year student at a private university. I teach children Dari, Pashto, the Koran, English and public speaking at the school," he said.

"Today, I can proudly say that these children, who were not familiar with books, notebooks or pens, can now read and write."

"I do this voluntarily so that every child of my country can be educated and have a better future, so that ignorance no longer exists in my country, and like other countries, we could also have a developed, progressive and peaceful country," Khan said.

Inspiring the next generation

Children who attend Khan's mobile school study with great enthusiasm, even under the sweltering sun or a downpour.

"I have been studying here for nearly a year, and I have learned many things," said Wazhma, a 10-year-old girl who studies at the mobile school.

"I had not seen a school before because [the closest one] is very far from our home," she said. "I am very happy to be able to read and write, and I want to become a teacher in the future."

Mariam, 8, said she has been studying at the mobile school for the past nine months.

"We study five subjects, and we sit in an open space," she said. "Sometimes, the sun is burning hot, and sometimes the air is very dusty. But I am happy that I have the opportunity to study close to my home, and I have learned many things."

The children called on Afghan officials and humanitarian aid agencies to build schools in their areas.

"We live in a remote area of Kabul province where there is no school," said Mohammadullah, 11, who lives in Bagrami district. "I had never been to school because of severe economic problems."

"I started studying enthusiastically when Professor Wazir Khan gathered us here a year ago," he said. "Today, I can write in Dari, Pashto and English, and I can read first grade and second grade textbooks."

"We study in an open area in the village," Mohammadullah said. "Sometimes the sun is burning hot, and sometimes it rains. We do not have a school building or a classroom."

"We demand that the government and international aid agencies build a school for us," he added.

Mohammad Dawood, 9, said he wants to become a doctor in the future.

"I am happy to have the opportunity to study," he said. "The government should build new schools here and provide us with books, notebooks, and pens."

Importance of education

Local elders praised the mobile school initiative.

"Education is very important and critical for children," said Nader Tarakhail, 60, a local elder. "Educated and uneducated people are very different. According to Islam, acquiring religious and modern education is mandatory for both boys and girls, and every family must send its children to school."

"The residents of this area are very poor, and as you can see, children are studying very enthusiastically out here in the open."

"I call on the officials and international aid agencies to build schools for these children who are deprived of education, and provide them with formal education," he said.

Mohammad Karim, 78, another local elder, said, "I am very happy for the children who study here. Everyone is happy here."

"Hundreds of poor families live in this area," he said.

"We requested the construction of a school here many times. Promises were made, but no action was taken," Karim said.

"I thank the young man who established the mobile school. Our country, especially the area we live in, needs teachers, doctors, nurses and midwives," he said. "We call on the officials and the world to build a school here."